My Windows 7 PC runs fine when doing anything other than games. Using an internet browser, watching YouTube, copying and burning disks all present no issue. Play a game, however, and I'll be able to play for perhaps 5 minutes before either a black screen and PC lockup, a BSOD, or sometimes luckily it will only be a CTD.

The latest example of this is with Civilisation V, but this also occurs with Crysis 2 and even Minecraft. In Civilisation V, I will get in four or so turns before a CTD when using DX10-11 and when using DX9 I'll get a BSOD at about the same time. With Crysis 2 and most other games, it's normally a frozen PC with perhaps a BSOD or two in there.

I have tried updating my drivers on graphics cards and any other hardware that seemed relevant. I've tried dumbing down graphics settings to as low as they would go. That did not work with Crysis2, Civ V, or any other game, but it did seem to work for Minecraft for a little while. I've also tried reinstalls of all three of these games.

Other games where the same 10 minute failure occurs include: Empire, Napoleon, and Shogun of Total War as well as Tropico 4.

This problem has been in existence for at least a year. Somehow, I got Minecraft working for a little while and resorted to a console for games and just ignored the problem. In desperation, I must turn to you. This may well be a hardware or OS problem. If that is the case, please let me know and I'll post elsewhere.

If you can offer any help or suggestions as to what to try, please feel free. It would be most appreciated!

With thanks,

Torm1

PS. I have bought all of my games (including the physical cases). The version of Civ V has both Gods and Kings and Brave New World. The rest were all updated to their latest patches. As far as I can tell, my system specs are more than sufficient for these games.

Yes, my system specs exceed all of the requirements for the games listed. Some of the games, such as Minecraft, are very basic. I've also tried them on low settings with no luck.

Just recently I installed Shogun II and had no trouble until shutting down the computer and booting it up again. From that point on, it was back to the 10 minutes or so of play before a freeze or CTD. In this case, I had a freeze and then two CTDs. The CTDs resulted in a box that said something like, "Windows desktop ("Windows explorer" in the past too) has failed (or something to that effect). Would you like to report or restart...".

If the problem is with the graphics card, Murf, how would I go about testing it?

With thanks,

Torm1

Edit: For the latest two games I tested on Can You Run It, Civilization V and Shogun II, both passed for both minimum and recommended requirements.
Edit 2: I've come across Fur Mark as a way to stress test GPU and CPUs, but I'm not sure how safe it is. Is there any particular software you could recommend to test the GPU?

Last edited by Torm1; November 26th, 2015 at 05:14 AM.
Reason: Addition